Strawberries
by Zahnmai
Summary: Elizabeth's favorite fruit is strawberries and when she returned to Earth she got some. Watch what she and Sheppard go through when she doesn't want to share. There is an R rated chap 2 which I couldn't put here.


Characters: Sheppard/Weir  
Genres: General, Fluff & Slush, Humor, Romance  
Rating: PG  
Warnings: none  
**Summary:** Elizabeth's favorite fruit is strawberries and when she returned to Earth she got some. Watch what she and Sheppard go  
through when she doesn't want to share.

The _Daedelus_ whispered through space on route to the Pegasus Galaxy, its occupants secure inside as the many day trip from Earth reached its midpoint. Dr. Elizabeth Weir sat on the observation deck, staring out into the blackness of space through an observation portal at the aft of the ship.. Nine days from Earth, 10 days after the break up with Simon and alone in the depths of the lonesome expanse that separated her from her past and her future, Elizabeth had time to reflect, to cry, to relive those final moments with her fiancé. Was it pride that had motivated her, when after a full year away from him, she'd tried so hard to make things work? She found out at the end, that he'd found somebody else, and it was a relief, a final letting go of the past that allowed her to step back on the starship and head for the Pegasus Galaxy. Was it guilt that had motivated her to be so jovial, so determined, so damned chipper when her heart wasn't in it? When Simon had agreed to appear one last time at her surprise dinner for two, she had been the only one  
surprised at that turn of events.

Elizabeth had looked at Simon, large and uncomfortable, trying to explain what didn't need explanation. Elizabeth had been out of touch and for all intents and purposes gone from his life for a little over 12 months. She hadn't expected him to really wait; she hadn't expected to be gone that long. And she definitely hadn't expected to fall in love with somebody else.

Yes, Elizabeth had been motivated by both guilt and pride. Simon was her fiancé; it was her duty to be faithful. Although her thoughts had been unfaithful, her body had remained chaste even to the point where she needed to relieve herself at points during the Pegasus mission. And when that happened she saw not the warm, brown gaze of Simon, but the intense, often amused, almost always jovial look of her military counterpart, Major John Sheppard. His smile invaded her dreams; she felt him near her even before he spoke and the heat of  
it left her flushed and wanting. However, she had stayed faithful to her former lover until the official break. She was that kind of person. And if Sheppard had any notion of what she really thought of him, he made no mention of it. He didn't, however, really keep his distance either.

He would touch her on the arm, the hand, tickling her back with his hand and then walking away leaving her bothered and giggly. She was not a giggly sort of woman; she was the Commander of Atlantis, a fact that he seemed to enjoy messing with. But there was nothing sexual or aggressive in his actions, just playful. And that was John Sheppard; when he was off-duty; teasing, restive, constantly on the move, thin, lithe and wiry. Like his never-combed, dark hair, he could sit next to her and make her feel somehow undone. It was odd that habit he had of lightly touching her arm, her leg on occasion or the shoulder, just enough to get her attention, but never enough to seem forward. Sheppard was never forward; he was just unnerving in his kinesthetic way of using light caresses to interrupt her flow of thought.

Elizabeth shook herself mentally. She was headed down that road again where she would wind up wet and horny and dreaming about him kissing and fondling her. She turned her attention to the coffee cup sitting on the table in front of her. Steam lifted and curled in a lazy fashion up and away from the dark substance in the cup. She liked coffee at this time of night, black with lots of sugar. During the day, she could take it with cream, but in the dead of night, it was always lean, strong and sweet….like John.

_Stop that!_ Fresh strawberries were in a bowl next to the coffee, a prize from her last shopping excursion before they'd left. They'd been in the refrigerator and were cold and sweet. She picked up one, taking a bite, savoring it's flavor, juice and the texture of real fruit and not repacked, freeze-dried substitutions that she'd survived on in Pegasus. It was her special treat to herself, and she had been selfish not sharing it with anyone. She only ate them in the dead of night when she was completely alone and restless. Too soon, the fruit would be gone, but for now it was delicious. She took another bite, closing her eyes in bliss. She loved strawberries.

"That good, huh?" His quiet, laughing voice interrupted her reverie. She jumped, startled.

"John?" Elizabeth looked up into his intense gaze, noted the slight smirk on his lips and worked frantically not to gasp audibly. "How long have you been standing there?" _Was he watching me? Jesus, He moves like a cat._

"Long enough. May I join you or do you want to be alone with your fruit."

"No, no, of course you can join me. I come here to think." 'He still didn't tell me how long he'd been standing there.

"And sneak forbidden fruit." John smiled at her, that favorite, half-crooked grin of his that made her heart skip a beat, sliding easily into a seat opposite her.

_Get a grip, Weir. You're reacting like a schoolgirl._ Yet, in all of her relationships with other men, there had been warmth, stability, conservative-ism. She'd felt safe, secure. With John, she felt his sense of adventure, the fact that he didn't play it safe, and she wanted to join his journey and have fun. John made her feel free, and he made her feel so different.

John made comments that made her laugh, irreverent statements that always contained an inner joke, a slight whimsy around the edges.  
While she felt safe and secure with John, and although she feigned annoyance at his antics, she secretly loved and expected him to take the road less traveled. His unwavering protection of her and Atlantis had made him her most trusted confidant. He could argue vehemently when he thought he was right; however, she never thought he'd not protect her – that he'd hurt her.

John and Simon had been so dissimilar – Simon had a tendency to be pedantic in his attention to details and the mentioning of nitpicking items she'd missed during their time together: ingratiating to a point, but somewhat annoying overall. John kept up with details, but made no reference to the things he tracked, presenting instead the bigger picture and using his memory and clarity of vision to instead assist those less endowed. It made Sheppard endearing as he rattled off some mathematical result or another at just the right moment to shift the conversation and shut down Rodney's screaming tirades on various macrocosmic versus microcosmic irregularities that no one understood or cared about.

Sometimes, in Sheppard's gaze, she could see the fear of an informed intelligence, but he shared those thoughts rarely, and only in side comments and half-jokes after the situation had been resolved. The contrast between the two men over the past year and her separation from Simon had resolved a niggling worry that had rattled around in the back of her mind – could she marry a man when she had figured out she didn't love him. Simon had thankfully relieved her of the burden of that decision.

John's hand was moving slowly towards her bowl of fruit, his gaze never wavering, his smile constant. She moved to stop him, but in an instant, he had one of her cherished strawberries in his hand.

"How much is it worth to you for me to put this strawberry back?" He teased, twirling the red, plump fruit around slowly in front of her. She lunged for it, and he backed away smiling.

_Oh, he was in one of those kinds of moods, was he?_ Elizabeth countenance took on a wicked expression. "What do you want from me?" She tossed the challenging verbal grenade squarely in his lap.

"Well, Lizzie," he began, still holding the strawberry at eye level just out of reach, "what are you prepared to give me?" Again, the grenade had been tossed. Now it was in her lap.

"Lizzie?" He always called her Elizabeth except when he was trying to get on her nerves. Then it was Lizzie, and she always had the same reaction. "You know I don't like that name."

"You want your forbidden fruit back, Lizzie." He continued like he hadn't heard her. She balled up a napkin and tossed it at him, boinging him on the head.

"What are you willing to do to keep it, Bean." She countered. It was his turn to look annoyed. Elizabeth had learned, quite by accident, that his childhood nickname had been Bean Pole, not very flattering even when it was subsequently shortened to Bean.

He raised the strawberry to his lips. "That won't get it back." He opened his mouth slowly wrapping his lips around the strawberry.

"Wait." _Damn, I blinked. Little cretin. He knows that I only have six of them left_. "What do you want me have to do to get the strawberry back, John?"

Sheppard smiled triumphant. "Just say please, Elizabeth."

She smiled, holding her hand out across the table. "Please." Her tone was dry.

"Please, what?"

Elizabeth sighed. "Please, John."

"Please, John, what?"

"Sheppard!"

"You have to do something else."

"What!" Her frustration was feigned. She was actually enjoying their exchange.

"I bet Rodney that you would do something extraordinary during our trip back to Atlantis."

"Extraordinary?"

"Besides hoarding fruit."

She rewarded him with a withering stare. "Did you have anything specific in mind?"

"No." He looked thoughtful then said, "something unexpected. Something that Elizabeth Weir, Doctor and Commander of Atlantis wouldn't ordinarily do. Something unexpected."

"I have no idea. Do you want me to fly the ship? That would beextraordinary."

"No, something less extravagant; something you would admit to and survive doing."

Sleeping with him immediately jumped to mind, but she pushed that into the background. It would probably be extraordinary, but she wouldn't admit it to Rodney.

Well," he ran his hand through his hair, "you could kiss me." It was a contrived casual air.

"What's extraordinary about that?" His smile lessened, and she saw hurt in his eyes, quickly covered. He really wanted her to kiss him, and then she felt badly. "I was teasing."

"Well, Rodney certainly wouldn't expect you to do that."

"No, I guess he wouldn't, but if I do, would I admit it to him."

"There is money riding on this, you know. Let's think of something else." He continued quickly looking out the portal.

"No, I'll do it."

"Don't sound so excited."

Elizabeth smiled at him. In fact, she was excited, very excited. "You are such a baby."

"I am not."

"Yes, you are."

"What about that other guy you are engaged to? I know he'll mind."

"Simon is no longer an issue." Elizabeth felt a pang of guilt, after all, they'd just broken up a couple weeks before. But she didn'tlove him. She loved this tall, lanky, pouting vessel of silliness sitting opposite her.

Elizabeth got up and walked around the table, smiling down at him. "Pucker up, Sheppard. It's your lucky day." She never talked like that.

He inclined his head. "My lips are ready."

She kissed him lightly, and his arms slid around her pulling her towards him. What started out as a playful light kiss rapidly turned into one of those wet, sloppy models that went on for a time, eyes closed, daydreams about what came after, wetness and hardness all meshing.

John rose still kissing her. It was incredible; it was all that she dreamed. Elizabeth didn't hear fireworks, but she felt something close to it going off inside her. She loved what he was doing; she wanted him to do more. They were the perfect height, the perfect match and John was proving himself to be one helluva kisser. Her mind fuzzed up; that never happened anymore. She felt like she never wanted him to stop; that hadn't happened in a while either. He appeared to be quite amenable to fulfilling her wish. God, she wanted him.

He did stop reluctantly after a time, taking a breath and smiling at her, that intense blue stare of his, gauging her reaction. She was flushed; her ears were turning red and the diplomat, with a word for every situation, was speechless.

'Control yourself. It was just a bet.' Elizabeth cautioned herself.

He leaned in and whispered in her ear. "Did you like that, Lizzie?"

_You can be so annoying,_ she thought, but didn't say it aloud. She still hated the name Lizzie.

Seeing that he wasn't going to get the standard reaction to the usage of her nickname, he looked a bit concerned. "You okay?"

_Get a grip, Elizabeth. Don't just stand here like an idiot._ "Yes, fine." She managed, after a pause. "May I have my strawberry back?"

"Yes." He plopped the fruit in her hand smiling. "Your forbidden fruit, Madam."

_How could she tell him, she wanted him to kiss her again?_ They were standing a few inches apart and she could feel his breathe on her face, his gaze falling on her, a strange look on his face. She couldn't look at him and not give it all away.

She went back and sat down, dropping the strawberry back into the bowl. She took up looking out into the darkness of space. Her head was spinning, her heart racing and she was really, really embarrassed by her feelings for him. She hadn't been horny in a long time. With Simon, they decided to have sex. With John, if that kiss was any indicator, nothing was planned and it wasn't making love like putting on comfy slippers – it was probably passionate, intense and extremely intimate. Oh, she couldn't give all those thoughts away. _It was a damned bet with Rodney, Elizabeth._

John had resumed his seat, watching her silently. He was still smiling, but now he appeared unsure. "Well, are you going to tell Rodney?"

"Yes."

"You okay?"

"Yes."

"What are you thinking?" Sheppard pressed. When she turned from the scene of space, she found the worried John Sheppard face, and she could almost read his thoughts – I have gone too far. I have ruined our friendship. I kissed her too passionately. She doesn't like me. She doesn't find me attractive.

Elizabeth broke the silence after picking up a strawberry. She looked him straight in the eye and smiled. "You want a strawberry, John?" She was almost whispering, her eyelids at half-mast.

John's smile broadened and he leaned back in his chair an appraising expression replacing the unsure one from before. "We have six strawberries left."

"Correction, Major, I have six strawberries left. My question to you is – what are you willing to do to get some of them?" The verbal grenade was again lobbed into John's lap.

He looked surprised. "I thought we shared everything?"

"What're you willing to do to get one, Bean?" The grenade was squarely in his court.

"What do you want me to do?" Sheppard grinned at her. She saw the grenade making a quick return trip.

"What do you think you can do to make me give you one, John?" Toss grenade; score!

John rose and walked around the table and pulled her to a standing position. He immediately started the non-stop kissing maneuver from before.

She'd have to thank Rodney when she got back, that is if she could still stand up. It was another nine days to Atlantis.

Elizabeth wondered what John would do for a pear. She had bought 10 of those with her when she'd left Earth. John continued to kiss  
her rubbing her nipples gently, and thoughts of fruit fuzzed over and disappeared in a haze of want and desire.

If you like Chapter I, Chapter II is up at my archive - It's R-rated, so I put it up there instead. Worlds-of-Wonder . com


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